Feds threaten to shut down 23 Colorado marijuana shops near schools

Headquarters Emporium and Dispensary, at 310 Main St. in Lyons, is moving because of concerns that it's too close to Lyons Elementary. The medical marijuana dispensary is moving to 4196 Ute Highway.
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Joshua Buck
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Calling it "merely a first step," federal authorities on Thursday sent letters to 23 medical marijuana dispensaries across Colorado warning them to stop selling the drug within 1,000 feet of a school or face having their property seized and possible prosecution.

The letters, sent by U.S. Attorney John Walsh to dispensary owners and their landlords, warn the operations that they have until Feb. 27 to close down or else "action will be taken to seize and forfeit" their property.

"Your prompt attention to this matter is strongly advised," the letter concludes.

A statement issued Thursday by the federal office goes on to say, "Those who do not comply will be subject to potential criminal prosecution and civil enforcement actions by the United States Attorney's Office for the District of Colorado and the Drug Enforcement Administration."

Click here to read the letter from the U.S. Attorney's Office.

Jeff Dorschner, a spokesman for Walsh's office, said he could not reveal the names or locations of the dispensaries that were sent the letters because they are subjects of ongoing federal investigations.

He said the owners and landlords likely have not received the letters yet because they were mailed Thursday afternoon as part of the first round of a new enforcement effort.

"Those 23 are just our first wave," Dorschner said. "There are many more, and after we complete the first wave, there will be a second wave and then possibly a third and a fourth."

The crackdown comes three months after the feds issued similar letters to at least 16 dispensaries in California that were ordered to shut down. Officials were mum then about the possibility of a crackdown in Colorado.

Statewide, there are about 700 medical marijuana dispensaries. Boulder has 37 cultivation facilities, 32 dispensaries and six marijuana-infused product manufacturing sites licensed to do business in the city.

Boulder officials said Thursday there are at least 13 medical marijuana businesses located within 1,000 feet of a school or daycare.

Medical marijuana (RICHARD M. HACKETT )

The city's code requires dispensaries to stay at least 500 feet away from those facilities. There are no federal restrictions on the proximity of dispensaries to daycare centers, however, and it was not immediately clear how many dispensaries on the city's list might be exempt from the crackdown for that reason.

Of the dispensaries on the city's list, five are closer than 500 feet to schools or daycare centers in Boulder, according to city officials. They are allowed to operate because they opened prior to the city passing more restrictive rules.

An independent analysis by the I-News Network found that as many as 56 medical marijuana dispensaries are within 1,000 feet of a school in Colorado.

Boulder Vital Herbs, at 2517 1/2 Broadway, is within 500 feet of Casey Middle School in Boulder.

"We haven't received (a letter) yet, if it does exist," said Martin Koenigsberg, an employee at Boulder Vital Herbs.

The I-News Network found the only Boulder County dispensary outside of Boulder and within 1,000 feet of a public school is the Headquarters Emporium and Dispensary, at 310 Main St. in Lyons, near Lyons Elementary School.

Cory Ravelson, manager of the Lyons dispensary, said the company is moving to a new location down the road, at 4196 Ute Highway, on Saturday.

Town officials had already expressed concerns about the dispensary being so close to a school, he said, so the company has been planning to move for months anyway.

"We thought we might get a letter -- but the 45-day thing, we're going to be out of here by then," he said. "All this talk about them issuing that (letter) is something we don't want to have to deal with."

Dorschner, the federal spokesman, said the businesses being targeted now are of particular concern because they are so close to schools.

"We have a strong U.S. attorney who is interested in protecting children," he said. "One of the things that he is very concerned about is children, and especially teenagers' access to marijuana."

And, he added, the cultivation, possession and sale of marijuana remains illegal under federal law -- even if Colorado's Amendment 20 provided an exemption for medicinal use.

"We're not interested in an individual who is a patient or a patient's caregiver under the original terms of the state amendment," he said. "But we are interested in the trafficking of marijuana, and there is a federal interest in those who are providing marijuana to children."

Under federal law, enhanced penalties apply for distributing a controlled substance within 1,000 feet of a school. And Colorado state law also recommends a 1,000-foot buffer between medical marijuana facilities and schools, drug rehabilitation centers and child care centers.

Kathy Haddock, Boulder's senior assistant city attorney, said the federal law applies to public or private elementary, vocational or secondary schools. Additionally, the law applies to public or private colleges, junior colleges, universities, playgrounds and housing facilities owned by a public housing authority, she said.

That likely means there are more dispensaries in Boulder that apply under the 1,000-foot rule that did not receive letters in the first round, according to Haddock.

She added that the city was not made aware of the federal action ahead of time, but there's nothing the city could do to stop the enforcement.

"We don't have any standing to come in and stop the feds," she said. "They can do what they want."

U.S. Rep. Jared Polis, D-Boulder, told the I-News Network on Thursday that he backed a 1,000-foot buffer between dispensaries and schools, calling it "a policy that makes sense, that I support, and with which all businesses should comply."

Bronson Hilliard, a spokesman for the University of Colorado, said CU is concerned about the proliferation of dispensaries in Boulder as well as their proximity to the campus.

"It's a combination of the proximity and the sheer volume," he said, and the "practices they engage in, in targeting our students as customers."

He said having dispensaries on University Hill, so close to the main student population, "certainly doesn't help things."

The Boulder City Council earlier this month approved an emergency moratorium on accepting or processing any new business licenses for medical marijuana facilities. City Attorney Tom Carr asked for the timeout, saying the city may have reached a saturation point for medical marijuana businesses.

For businesses that shut down due to the federal order, the moratorium means they will not be able to re-open elsewhere in Boulder for the time being. The City Council is scheduled to hold a public hearing Feb. 7 to decide whether to impose a longer-term moratorium.

Laura Kriho, director of the Boulder-based Cannabis Therapy Institute, said she was not surprised to hear about the federal crackdown.

"I expected it all along, and I feel sorry for the dispensaries because they have walked into this trap," she said. "The state has lulled them into a false sense of security."

Kriho suggested that employees at Boulder dispensaries consider switching careers, as the state likely will not back them if the feds raid their employers.

"The feds don't care, and the state doesn't care," she said. "The state is not going to testify in their favor.

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